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Terrazas de los Andes

Terrazas de los Andes Petit Manseng Single Vineyard

by Amanda Barnes June 9, 2022

More about the wine

Plenty of sweet wines get made in Argentina but few are worth writing about. This, however, is the exception, and has been my favourite sticky in Argentina for many years. Made with partially botrytised grapes, this wine has intense aromas of honeysuckle, peach compote and lemon curd. Terrazas were the first to plant Petit Manseng in Argentina, in 1999.

More about the winery

One of the fine wine pioneers of Mendoza and a pioneer in Gualtallary in the Uco Valley, Terrazas de los Andes winery was originally founded as the fine wine sister of Chandon in 1992. Although the winery is in Luján de Cuyo, most of its vineyards are in the Uco Valley and Terrazas de los Andes was a pioneer of the now renowned region of Gualtallary – first planting there in 1993.

Today the wines include a wide range of old vines from Las Compuertas and new vines in Gualtallary, Paraje Altamira, El Peral and Los Chacayes, and under the hand of winemaker Marcos Fernandez there is an increasing drive towards fresh, terroir-focused expressions in the top Parcel range.

Read more about Terrazas de los Andes

June 9, 2022 0 comment

Hervé Birnie-Scott and Marcos Fernandez in El Espinillo vineyard in Gualtallary

Uco Valley Wine

Pioneering Gualtallary: The Terrazas de los Andes story

by Amanda Barnes February 1, 2022

written by Amanda Barnes

Terrazas de los Andes was a pioneer of Gualtallary. Although the region has gone on to become one of the most famed of Mendoza’s Uco Valley, when winemaker Hervé Birnie-Scott first planted here in 1993 everyone called him the ‘loco Francés’ for planting at such altitudes and in such a cool climate. The rest is, of course, history and Terrazas de los Andes’ original Caicayén vineyard (planted at 1,200 m.a.s.l..) is now surrounded by renowned vineyards as Gualtallary has stepped into the limelight as one of the top terroirs of the Uco Valley.

However, the exploration of the Terrazas de los Andes team doesn’t stop there. In the last decade, Hervé Birnie-Scott has accrued many high altitude vineyards for the winery in order to show the different altitudes – or Terrazas – of the Andes. One of the most extreme is their El Espinillo vineyard, planted at 1,650 m.a.s.l.. and now the highest vineyard in Gualtallary.

As winemaker Marcos Fernandez and Hervé explain in this video, this is a unique place with a very distinctive cool climate Malbec expression. “Some vintages we are Winkler I here,” explains Marcos, “we are at the very limit of ripening Malbec. But the Malbec we get is incredible because it really expresses the mountain terroir and place: with notes of wild thyme and herbs.”

Hervé Birnie-Scott and Marcos Fernandez on El Espinillo and pioneering Gualtallary

The wines certainly do express a unique mountain climate, and I was lucky enough to get to do a vertical tasting with Hervé and Marcos from 2017 until 2021:

Vertical tasting of Parcel El Espinillo Malbec Terrazas de los Andes

Parcel El Espinillo Malbec 2017

I’d more likely assume this is a cool climate Northern Rhone Syrah than a Mendoza Malbec in a blind tasting… with a dark graphite note, meatiness, mountain herbs and dark fresh black fruit notes, it shows great complexity aromatically but has lovely freshness and finesse to the palate. Showing really nicely and boldly presenting itself as a cool climate Malbec with some structure from oak ageing.

Parcel El Espinillo Malbec 2018

This vintage also shows some of the same inkiness of 2017 but is more driven by dark fruit and some spice. There’s good length to the finish and that trademark fresh acidity with notes of wild thyme on the end. 2018 is often seen as one of the top vintages of Mendoza, and this shows good potential with balanced freshness too.

Parcel El Espinillo Malbec 2019

In this vintage we begin to see a shift in winemaking, pushing away from new oak in favour of more neutral oak. And the fruit of the wine sings for this reason – with fresh cassis fruit and a juicy, crunchy finish. There’s a touch of white pepper in the nose and that trademark mountain freshness with some herbal lift.

Parcel El Espinillo Malbec 2020

Although this was a warmer vintage with warmer notes of plum creeping through, this is very much a vintage that shows how the Terrazas de los Andes approach to El Espinillo has shifted. Moving towards early harvests when the grapes are ‘al dente’ and with a gentle approach in the cellar, this is fragrant and bright. “In 2020 I think we see a good dialogue between Malbec and the place”, adds Hervé.

Parcel El Espinillo Malbec 2021

Spoiler alert… I only tasted samples from the winery for the potential blend, but it seems as though Terrazas de los Andes will be leaning into the fresher mountain expression of El Espinillo and I’m very excited to see this vintage come to light. Watch this space!

February 1, 2022 0 comment

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Terrazas de los Andes

by Amanda Barnes December 16, 2018

written by Amanda Barnes

About Terrazas de los Andes winery

The story of Terrazas starts in 1992, when Hervé Birnie-Scott was brought to Argentina by Moët & Hennessey to start making fine still wines to complement their production of sparkling wines at Chandon (which was established in the 1959 as the group’s first international investment). His search for higher quality still wine took him to higher ground and so Terrazas de los Andes was focused on finding high altitute vineyards of old vines in Las Compuertas and planting new vines in high altitude vineyards in the Uco Valley.

The search led Terrazas and Chandon becoming a pioneer of Gualtallary with one of the first vineyards there planted in 1993, and Terrazas continues to push the limits now with the highest altitude vineyard in the region – El Espinillo at 1,650 m.a.s.l.. Today the winery has over 550 hectares of vineyards, the large majority of which are in the Uco Valley with some old vine vineyards in Las Compuertas and Perdriel in Lujan de Cuyo.

About Terrazas de los Andes vineyards

Terrazas de los Andes has eight ‘micro terroirs’ within Mendoza which all go into their portfolio of white, red and sweet wines.

El Yaima is the southernmost vineyard in the region of San Carlos in the Uco Valley, where a sandy-loam soil with lots of rocks at the surface in combination with the cool temperatures of this southern region offer fresher styles of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah wines, as well as their famed Petit Manseng dessert wine.

Los Castaños is their vineyard in the prime region of Paraje Altamira, renowned for making silkier styles of Malbec due to the calcareous influence in the soils. The vines here are particularly old for this region of the Uco Valley, planted in 1945.

El Pedregal is also within the Paraje Altamira region and this is the rockiest of all of their vineyards. Malbec also excels in this vineyard but also a mineral and aromatic Cabernet Sauvignon.

Lican is their vineyard in the interesting sub-region of Los Chacayes in Tunuyan where the soil is sandier giving the vines very deep root systems. The vineyard here is planted to Malbec and, as is typical of Los Chacayes, here we see Malbec wine of more structure and reactive tannins.

Caicayen is one of Terrazas de los Andes vineyards within the region of Gualtallary. There is a sandy-loam soil profile here and with 1,200 m.a.s.l. altitude the vineyard offers wines of good freshness and acidity, particularly renowned for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

El Espinillo is one of the most exciting vineyards not only within the portfolio of Terrazas de los Andes, but one of the most exciting in Mendoza today. It is the highest vineyard in Gualtallary, at 1,630 m.a.s.l., and one of the highest in Mendoza. The extra altitude with the wild fauna and flora all around offers very distinctive wines with good minerality and mountain herb character. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Malbec are all grown here.

Video with founder Hervé Birnie-Scott and former winemaker Marcos Fernandez in El Espinillo vineyard

Los Aromos is a key vineyard for the winery in the heart of Lujan de Cuyo, and in this case in Perdriel. With rocky, gravel soils, and 980 m.a.s.l. altitude it offers a great spot for ripening Cabernet Sauvignon in particular.

Las Compuertas is another very special vineyard within Lujan de Cuyo and is home to the oldest vines that Terrazas use. Planted in 1929, the ungrafted Malbec here is almost 100-years-old and produces wines of corresponding complexity and concentration. Los Cerezos is a specific plot within the Las Compuertas vineyard.

Finally, Terrazas de los Andes also have their own vineyard in Cafayate in Northern Argentina. It is here at 1,800 m.a.s.l. that they produce their fragrant Torrontés.

Terrazas de los Andes wines

ALTOS DEL PLATA

Wines grown at the foothills of the “Cordon del Plata”, a sub-range of the Andes. Single varietal, fruity and fresh wines.

RESERVA

The Reserva line is the signature style of Terrazas de los Andes, a reflection of the elevation terroirs in Mendoza.

APELACION DE ORIGEN

The Apelacion de Origen line reflects the winery’s interpretation of some of the most outstanding Geographical Indications of Mendoza: Compuertas, Paraje Altamira and Chacayes. They reveal a very particular style and characteristics determined by the climate and soil conditions.

GRAND

Grand wines are complex, textured, they reflect the full varietal expression.

PARCELA

Parcela wines interpret with precision and character the speciﬁcity of certain individual plots within Terrazas de los Andes Malbec vineyards, representing the personality of this terroirs.

Visiting Terrazas de los Andes

Right in the heart of Lujan de Cuyo, Terrazas de los Andes has a very handsome winery and cellar open to visits and tastings.

It also has a renowned restaurant where you can dine on their wine-paired menu with Argentine cuisine in the gardens or inside the guest home. For those who also want to linger a little longer in the world of Terrazas de los Andes, you can stay overnight in the cosy guest house.

December 16, 2018 0 comment